Shaft (1971)

Director:

Gordon Parks

Writers:

Ernest Tidyman (screenplay) and
John D.F. Black (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

2 July 1971 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

The mob wanted Harlem back. They got shaft...up to here.

Plot:

Cool black private eye John Shaft is hired by a crime lord to find and retrieve his kidnapped daughter.

Plot Keywords:

Detective | Mafia | Kidnapping | Smashing A Window | Racial Slur

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 4 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Richard Roundtree	...	John Shaft
Moses Gunn	...	Bumpy Jonas
Charles Cioffi	...	Vic Androzzi
Christopher St. John	...	Ben Buford
Gwenn Mitchell	...	Ellie Moore
Lawrence Pressman	...	Tom Hannon
Victor Arnold	...	Charlie
Sherri Brewer	...	Marcy
Rex Robbins	...	Rollie
Camille Yarbrough	...	Dina Greene
Margaret Warncke	...	Linda
Joseph Leon	...	Byron Leibowitz
Arnold Johnson	...	Cul
Dominic Barto	...	Patsy
George Strus	...	Carmen
Edmund Hashim	...	Lee
Drew Bundini Brown	...	Willy
Tommy Lane	...	Leroy
Al Kirk	...	Sims
Shimen Ruskin	...	Dr. Sam
Antonio Fargas	...	Bunky
Gertrude Jeannette	...	Old Lady
Lee Steele	...	Blind Vendor
Damu King	...	Mal
Donny Burks	...	Remmy
Tony King	...	Davies
Benjamin R. Rixson	...	Bey Newfield
Ricardo Brown	...	Tully
Alan Weeks	...	Gus
Glenn Johnson	...	Char
Dennis Tate	...	Dotts
Adam Wade	...	Brother #1
James Hainesworth	...	Brother #2
Clee Burtonya	...	Sonny
Ed Bernard	...	Peerce
Eddie Barth	...	Tony (as Ed Barth)
Joe Pronto	...	Dom
Robin Nolan	...	Waitress
Ron Tannas	...	Billy
Betty Bresler	...	Mrs. Androzzi
Gonzalo Madurga	...	Counterman
Paul Nevens	...	Elevator Man
Jon Richards	...	Elevator Starter
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Gordon Parks	...	Apartment Landlord (uncredited)

Directed by
Gordon Parks

Writing credits
Ernest Tidyman		(screenplay) and
John D.F. Black		(screenplay)
Ernest Tidyman		(novel)

Produced by
Joel Freeman	....	producer
David Golden	....	associate producer
Roger Lewis	....	producer (uncredited)
Stirling Silliphant	....	executive producer (uncredited)
Ernest Tidyman	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Isaac Hayes
J.J. Johnson

Cinematography by
Urs Furrer		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Hugh A. Robertson

Casting by
Judith Lamb

Art Direction by
Emanuel Gerard

Set Decoration by
Robert Drumheller

Costume Design by
Joseph G. Aulisi		(as Joe Aulisi)

Makeup Department
Martin Bell	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Steven P. Skloot	....	unit production manager (as Steven Skloot)
David Golden	....	production supervisor (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ted Zachary	....	assistant director
Kurt Baker	....	second assistant director (uncredited)
Alan R. Green	....	dga trainee (uncredited)
Allan Wertheim	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Hal Bock	....	chief carpenter (uncredited)
Robert Hart	....	chief construction grip (uncredited)
Jack Wright Jr.	....	props (uncredited)

Sound Department
Lee Bost	....	sound
Hal Watkins	....	sound
Charles Geller	....	sound recordist (uncredited)
Robert Rogow	....	boom man (uncredited)

Stunts
Bob Herron	....	stunts (uncredited)
Tommy Lane	....	stunts (uncredited)
Joe Pronto	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Louis Gerolomi	....	gaffer (uncredited)
Ronald M. Lautore	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Randy Munkacsi	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Larry Orlick	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Ed Quinn	....	second grip (uncredited)
Robert Royal	....	key grip (uncredited)
Jack Volpe	....	dolly grip (uncredited)
Ron Zarilla	....	second assistant camera (uncredited)

Casting Department
Sylvia Fay	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Celia Bryant	....	wardrobe supervisor (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Paul L. Evans	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Tom McIntosh	....	technical assistant to composer
Mayuto Correa	....	musician (uncredited)
Charles 'Skip' Pitts	....	musician (uncredited)

Transportation Department
James Fanning	....	transportation captain (uncredited)

Other crew
Bud Brown	....	auditor (uncredited)
Ozzie Brown	....	unit publicist (uncredited)
Cle Kent	....	script supervisor (uncredited)
Tom Miller	....	unit publicist (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
• Shaft Productions Ltd.

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1971) (USA) (theatrical)
• Inex Film (1971) (Yugoslavia) (theatrical)
• MGM-EMI (1971) (UK) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1971) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1972) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1975) (USA) (TV)
• Warner Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Sandrews (2001) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2001) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2001) (UK) (DVD)
• Living Colour Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Sylvia Fay/Lee Genick & Associates Casting  extras casting

Also Known As:

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:X (original rating) | Iceland:16 | Argentina:16 | South Korea:15 | Peru:14 | Italy:T | Brazil:14 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Ontario) | Finland:K-16 | Netherlands:16 (video rating) | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

55 Jane Street, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Rex Robbins' first film role.

Goofs:

Continuity: At the beginning of the movie, in Shaft's office, Shaft changes back and forth between a lighter brown coat and a dark coat. The difference can be seen by noticing the horizontal seam on the back of each coat, one is straight and the other is not.

Quotes:

[first lines]
John Shaft:[holding up his middle finger to a cab driver who is honking his horn at him] Up yours! Get out the way!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Buck Henry/The Grateful Dead (#4.5)" (1978)

Soundtrack:

Bumpy's Blues

Shaft. John Shaft.

I first saw this movie three years ago with a bunch of friends. We laughed ourselves to death, and it was the start of a budding interesting in watching poorly made films as a death sport (Trust me, the worse they are, the more they are a battle with your own mortality). In any event, we had a ball laughing at the time capsule elements of the film; the hair, the clothes, the dialogue, and above all as many puns on the name Shaft as we could think of ("Uh oh! The police want Shaft! H'yuck!"). Watching the film now I find it rather interesting; as far as bad movies go, there are movies that are infinitely worse, and as far as good movies go, there are movies that are infinitely better.

Unlike a lot of poor blaxploitation movies I've seen, this one has a decent plot, some interesting characters, and a slick look, as directed by Gordon Parks. They seem to have a pretty good idea how to make a movie. Sure they characters say stuff like "Don't jive me!" but c'mon that was the time. I guess then this film was cutting edge in its own way.

The character of Shaft fascinates me. Here's a character who uses women without remorse and without consequences, treats his one friend like a jerk, uses people, and helps out a ruthless gangster because the price is right. He's also one of the coolest characters ever presented on screen (The comparison to James Bond is actually pretty apt). I love it when a protagonist defies conventions, and man, if ever a character did, it was Shaft.

Still the plot, involving a black mobster whose daughter is kidnapped by the Mafia starts strong but loses steam by the end. The white villains are faceless (A nice change from racist Hollywood movies, but still), and while the film begins with some excellent twists, nothing suprising or very exciting happens in the last half hour. I kept expecting some characters with very questionable loyalties to double cross Shaft, but they never do. The film ends with a raid on an apartment, but the ramifications with the mob, the men who help Shaft, or the police are never shown. In a way, it works cause the film does things the way it wants, but still it's not a very satifying end to things.

I guess now older, wiser, and a tad (Just a tad, perhaps even as much as a smidge) more mature, I can appreciate Shaft as a decent crime flick, with a great (I probably should say "right on") protagonist. And yes, it is campy and out of date, but that adds to the fun. Still, I think it's a better film that I used to give it credit for. Or maybe "shaft" jokes just aren't as funny to me as they used to be.